Kunzite
by persian85033
Summary: A celebration in Crystal Tokyo, but what happens when someone mysteriously dissappears?
1. Chapter 1

It seemed a day like any other here in Crystal Tokyo. Everyone sat at the breakfast table, listening to Small Lady recall a dream she'd had. Every now and then Diana would remember something she'd have forgotten to say. How Diana knew about Small Lady's dreams, no one was sure, they could only assume that Small Lady would tell her everything before she told anyone else. Artemis remained oblivious to his breakfast, as he listened entranced. Luna thought he just looked a bit humorous. Kunzite was concentrating on his plate, Jadeite was absorbed in Small Lady's story, which caused him to miss his mouth with his fork quite a few times. Mars just rolled her eyes whenever this happened, Nephrite kept trying not to laugh. The king and queen listened politely to their daughter, though looking very proud. Zoicite wondered what they could look so proud about, it was only a little girl's dream of being a senshi he thought, though he couldn't really understand some of what she was saying. Mercury tried to encourage Small Lady to eat her breakfast while telling her story, but Small Lady waved her away, which only caused Jupiter and Venus to giggle.

"That was very brave of you, Small Lady."said Diana, when Small Lady finished.

Several people nodded.

"Soon, you will start training as a senshi."Queen Serenity told her. "And become just like Sailor Moon."

"Um, Kunzite won't be in charge of training me, will he?"asked Small Lady in a small voice.

She looked terrified at the prospect.

"Of course not!"exclaimed Zoicite. "That would be terrible! I should know! You probably wouldn't live to tell the tale! We only did by a miracle."

Kunzite frowned at him. Small Lady sighed and looked happy once more, returning to her breakfast. Kunzite glared at Zoicite, who just shrugged and smiled. Kunzite made a mental note perhaps to give Zoicite a particularly difficult assignment. After Small Lady's story, the conversation turned to more serious topics, in which Kunzite joined, of course. Venus spoke only occasionally.

"And we forgot to announce!"exclaimed Queen Serenity. "That Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will also be joining us shortly! Perhaps Pluto as well!"

"Really?!"Small Lady and Diana exclaimed in delight.

"Diana, keep your voice down!"said Luna sternly.

However, neither Diana nor Small Lady heard.

"And what's the occasion?"asked Nephrite.

After all, the Outers hardly ever visited Crystal Tokyo.

"Why not?"asked Queen Serenity. "Everyone deserves a break every now and then! And besides, it'll be nice to see everyone together again!"she said.

The king smiled. It was obvious to everyone that whatever reason they wanted the Outers to visit the Crystal Palace, they were not going to reveal it just now.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, boy, it'll be fun to see everyone together, won't it, Diana?"asked Small Lady.

Diana nodded.

"Of course it will, Small Lady."she agreed.

They ran out to the garden.

"Oh, boy, what do you think we'll do? Do you think there's something special planned?"she asked Diana.

"I don't know. Probably. If everyone is going to be here, I imagine so."

"We should make something special! Especially for Pluto! Do you think Jupiter will let us bake some cookies?"she asked, eagerly.

Diana nodded.

"I would think so."Diana agreed.

"Oh, boy! What flavor do you think we could bake? Or do you think a cake is better?"

They walked back to the palace, Small Lady saying a long list of things of cookies, muffins, and cakes she could bake for the Outers when they arrived.

"Everything looks just like I remember it!"said Neptune, looking around.

Uranus nodded.

"Just as I remember it."she agreed.

Neptuen and Uranus hugged.

"I'm so happy to see you!"exclaimed Neptune.

"When was the last time we saw everybody?"asked Saturn.

"Saturn!"Small Lady and Diana ran to hug her.

"It's so good to see you again, Princess Saturn."said Diana, bowing slightly, as she noticed Luna giving her a look.

"It's good to see you, too Diana."

Diana went to greet Pluto.

"And how are you doing, Pluto?"Luna asked her politely.

Pluto smiled.

"Much better."Pluto answered, smiling. "I'm so glad to see you, Diana."

"So am I."answered Diana, bowing to Pluto, as well.

"Jupiter showed me to bake!"

Small Lady took a plate of cookies.

"Uh, what exactly are these supposed to be? I can't really make out the shapes."said Uranus. "Aren't most cookies round? Or shaped like animals, or something?"

Neptune took one.

"Mmm! These are delicious! It doesn't matter what shape they are."she assured Small Lady, and took another one.

"And how are your lessons going?"Pluto asked Small Lady and Diana.

"Oh, I'm learning everything!"exclaimed Small Lady. "Jupiter is teaching me to bake, and cook so many things, but I don't like Mercury's classes! She's nice and fun, but they're hard!"she complained. "And the ones with Venus are also fun, and Mars, too! But Kunzite always has someone there! When it's not him, it's Jadeite, or Zoicite, or Nephrite!"

"I'm sure that he's just concerned for your safety, Small Lady."assured Neptune.

Small Lady sighed.

"But I can take care of myself!"she insisted. "At least Saturn gets to go by herself!"

"Saturn's different."said Kunzite in his calm, composed voice.

"And how are you doing, Saturn?"Queen Serennity asked her.

"I think she's doing wonderfully."said Neptune.

Saturn nodded.

"At least no one has to keep an eye on me."she said. "What I don't really enjoy as much is that it's boring between classes, and I miss Small Lady and Diana."

"But you can take my lessons with me!"insisted Small Lady.

She looked up to her parents, who nodded.

"Oh, goodie! That way, it'll be more fun!"


	3. Chapter 3

Kunzite reviewed the schedule, while the other three generals relaxed in their usual war room, as they referred to it.

"I don't know why we're here."complained Nephrite.

"It's only for a couple of minutes."said Zoicite.

"We should keep up to date on everything."Kunzite insisted. "Someone should be on patrol at every hour."

"But we have the Guardians and the Outers here, as well!"

Kunzite turned.

"Exactly why we should be more concerned about security than ever. Right now, the borders aren't protected as they should be from outside invasion, see."he explained.

"But no one would attack the Solar System."said Nephrite. "No one would be crazy enough! I mean, everything's been perfect with the neighboring stars, and no one has anything against the king and queen. Really, Kunzite, these are times of peace, you know!"

Kunzite frowned, shaking his head.

"Apparently, no one here takes their duty to our king and queen seriously, do they?"he asked, coldly.

"We do take it seriously. You just take it too seriously!"Nephrite insisted. "You take everything too seriously!"

"Need I remind you-"

"We know, we know!"Jadeite interrupted him. "We remember, too! Don't ever fear that we'll ever forget! You remind us about it every single day of our lives!"

"And we have to remember that Small Lady Serenity, as the Heiress to Crystal Tokyo, and this star system, is our highest priority."

He looked out the window.

"Do you think that something might happen?"asked Zoicite, in a worried voice. "I mean, I know, like Nephrite said, these are times of peace, but…?"he trailed off.

"I think I have said everything I needed to say."Kunzite didn't reply his question.

"Besides, it's late."added Jadeite, as they left the room.

Exasperated, Kunzite wondered how they could have forgotten it all! If only he was as fortunate! Was he the only one who remembered? He sighed. Jadeite was right. It was getting late. Mars walked in.

"Jadeite said you were probably still here."she said.

He nodded.

"I'm glad."she sat down. "I wanted to talk to you about something I have seen."

Kunzite turned around.

"There haven't been any disturbance, since Crystal Tokyo was created, however, that may not last for long."she hesitated. "That is why the Outers are here."she ended.

Kunzite was frowning.

"And why was I not informed about this?"he asked.

"No one was. King Endymion and Queen Serenity decided not to. Not even the other senshi know. Just the king, queen and myself."

"But I should have been told!"he insisted.

"I might be wrong."said Mars.

"And what if you're not wrong?"

"At least we'll have taken some precautions. But I don't think that it's Crystal Tokyo that's in danger. That's what's so odd about this."

"What do you mean, it's odd that Crystal Tokyo is not in danger? Should I-"

"No!"she interrupted him. "I think that it might be the Outers who are in the most danger. Not us, or the Royal Family. But I could be wrong."

Kunzite looked surprised.

"Why would anyone wish to attack them? Maybe because they are after the Talismans? They are very powerful."

"Saturn is staying here, with Small Lady, not just because it would be good for Small Lady, and they are friends, but because Small Lady is always under your watch, of course. That way, Saturn is in less danger."

"What about the other three?"he asked.

"Pluto, I don't think anything could touch her in the fourth dimension. Anyone without a key would be lost…"

"The danger would be coming from another star!"he said, harshly. "And they are to guard the Solar System from any outside invasion! They should be returned to their posts!"

Now, King Endymion and Queen Serenity had joined Mars and Kunzite.

"Nothing could possibly enter this star system without us knowing it at once!"said King Endymion. "Not with the new computer Zoicite and Mercury designed."

In another part of the Solar System, perhaps not very far from Crystal Tokyo, or even Earth itself, a man hidden in shadows communicated with a woman from Earth.

"They're here. But it'd be impossible to do anything to them while they're in the palace."she was telling him.

"You're wrong."he told her. "Is anyone starting to suspect?"

She shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"So everything is going perfectly."


	4. Chapter 4

"Why have the Outers been sent for?"Kunzite demanded from Venus. "Has anyone told you anything?"he asked, harsly.

Venus, who had been brushing her hair, in preparing for bed looked up in surprise.

"I didn't think I'd see you. Any time you spend away from your work is time lost for you, isn't it?"she asked.

He frowned.

"I asked you a question first."he told her.

"The queen said it was because she said everyone needed a little break every now and then. I know you don't, but apparently, she decided that everyone else did. At least the Outers, anyway."she smiled. "Why? You're upset because something happened on Earth, and you aren't aware of it at once? Or before it happened?"she asked.

"It all seems so suspicious."he said, and began to pace back and forth.

A girl came in, and Venus gave her final instructions.

"I've never seen her before? Someone you've ascended?"he asked her. "What happened to…I can never remember her name, but the one who used to wait on you?"

"I never knew you noticed anything about my maids, or anything else."she said.

"Of course I notice people. I wouldn't be King Endymion's General if I didn't notice such things, especially the people. Especially here, where they might be able to harm the Royal Family."

"Of course. You know, sometimes I wonder why I married you. Or why you married me."she turned. "Or was it because King Endymion asked you to?"she asked.

"I highly doubt His Majesty would ask such a thing."he looked uncomfortable. "However, if he did, make no mistake that I would comply."he affirmed.

Venus nodded.

"I never doubted that you would comply. If it's anything related to your work, your mission, you always do. Because that's your life. That's it."

Kunzite looked highly uncomfortable. He didn't know what to answer. Perhaps he shouldn't have married her in the first place. Sometimes he did wonder why he had married her. After all, Venusians did have different customs, most of which he found rather difficult to abide by.

"The Royal Family must always come first. They are the rulers of this star system. And we were assigned to their protection."

Venus turned away, not wanting to hear anything. She thought she already had the whole thing memorized everything he said.

"Look, it's been a long day,"she interrupted. "and I'm tired. So, I'll go to bed."and she walked away.

Kunzite stood, debating with himself, as to whether or not he should follow her. He decided not. He wasn't going to solve anything with that, and right now, he had to think about the present situation. The king and queen wouldn't take the Outers away from their posts, he was sure of that. There had to be a reason, he knew.

Saturn, Diana, and Small Lady read a book that Small Lady had been assigned by Mars about divining the future, and fire readings.

"Fortune telling is so hard!"sighed Small Lady. "How do you know you're right? And if you're not?"she asked Saturn.

"But I thought you preferred to read instead of meditate, Small Lady?"Diana asked.

"Mars also teaches me about meditating."Small Lady told Saturn.

"I never get to learn all that."Saturn sounded interested. "Especially fire readings! The only fortune telling I get to learn is related to dying, or birth."she said. "Can you see anything in flames?"she asked.

Small Lady shook her head.

"No. Mars does, though. At least that's what she says. And she has dreams, too."

"Uranus also had dreams! And Neptune and Pluto, too! I don't, though. They told me I might when I get older. I wonder what I'll dream about!"

"The future."Diana said, simply. "And I believe they call them visions, Small Lady. Mars was very clear on that. If I recall correctly, she said a dream and a vision were not the same thing."

"Oh."Small Lady looked crestfallen. "I forgot how you tell the difference. Isn't one when you're awake?"

"I thought that was a trance?"Saturn looked utterly confused.

The other two did, as well.

"Let's go outside."Diana suggested.

The three of them walked outside, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.


	5. Chapter 5

Neptune walked to the pool. It felt odd that there wasn't somewhere to bathe just about everywhere here. Or a beach within walking distance. On Triton Castle, the whole castle was surrounded by beaches, where one could swim in the oceans. The rivers that ran within the castle also led to the ocean. It felt good to be emerged in water, even if it wasn't deep water, she thought. She looked up, feeling that she was being watched. A girl was indeed standing there. From her dress, Neptune assumed her to be one of the hand maiden, although she had never seen her.

"Hello."Neptune greeted her, looking confused.

It seemed odd that a hand maiden would be away from her duties, especially to observe someone she wasn't supposed to wait on. She couldn't be one of Queen Serenity's personal assistant

"May I help you? If you're new and you lost your ways, I don't think I can be of much help to you."Neptune apologized. "I have only spent a few days here, in the Crystal Palace myself."

The girl remained silent.

"I am not lost."she said finally.

Neptune was more confused than ever.

"Oh, well, I'm glad, but what could I help you with?"she asked again.

Suddenly, Neptune felt something heavy hit her from behind, and she knew nothing more.

"That's odd. Have you seen Neptune?"Uranus asked Mercury.

Mercury shook her head.

"No. Why?"she asked, surprised.

"Hmm. I thought you might have. She went swimming for a while. I figured you might have met her, or something?"

"No."Mercury sighed. "I do wish to, but some days there's just no time."she smiled. "That's why I try to relax as much when I am able to go to Marina."

Uranus smiled.

"Isn't that ironic? It's like a treat for us to be here. Like a vacation, and you're saying you'd much rather be at Marina?"she asked. "That's very hard for me to believe."

"I guess you have missed Neptune, haven't you? I, myself, can't imagine only viewing Zoicite on trimensic for only an hour or so a day."

"Yeah, but we each have our own posts, our own duties, and we do try to keep each as up to date as we can. That's part of why it's such a treat to be able to be here, in Crystal Tokyo. We're together."said Uranus.

Mercury nodded.

"I can imagine."

"Well, I guess I'll keep searching."

"I do know where the pool is, though. Maybe she's still there?"Mercury suggested.

Uranus shook her head.

"I've already looked there. Twice."

"Oh."Mercury thought for a while. "Perhaps…I know the there are hardly any continents on Neptune. Mostly islands. Neptunians enjoy bathing in the ocean. And especially where they can get further away from the shores, in the deep waters. There's a beach not too far from here. Perhaps she went there?"

Uranus frowned.

"I guess that does make sense, but she would probably have told me."she insisted.

"It's not within walking distance. You usually have to drive."

"Hmm, even stranger."said Uranus. "I guess I could go there."

"Or simply wait until she gets back."

"I could do that, too."Uranus sighed. "Well, thanks."she turned and left.

Uranus walked down the hall. It was odd for Neptune to have gone to the beach without saying anything. But again, Neptune had probably forgotten she was in Crystal Tokyo. On Triton, that's what she would have done, simply decided to go somewhere else, and go, without saying anything to anyone.

However, as the day went by, there was still no sign of Neptune, and Uranus was still worried. Pluto, and the others began to worry as well.

"Where could she have gone?"Jupiter asked.

"No one could have disappeared from this city, much less this palace!"said Kunzite, firmly.

"Such a thing hasn't happened since…"Nephrite trialed off.

"Maybe she went exploring."suggested Saturn.

"I don't think so."said Mercury, gently.

"Do you think we should organize a search?"Endymion asked Kunzite.

"That might be the best."Kunzite acceded. "But where? If she's anywhere in Crystal Tokyo, anywhere in the Solar System we'd know."

"Another star?"suggested Jupiter.

"Which one?"asked Zoicite.


	6. Chapter 6

"Then discard that."said Nephrite. "I mean, who would want to take Neptune away from this star system?"

"A new enemy!"Kunzite broke in.

"You're seeing enemies everywhere!"complained Zoicite. "It's been years, decades, such a long time, there's been peace in Crystal Tokyo, since it was created, and yet we still train, as if the place was infested with youmas!"

"A new enemy? I don't think so."said King Endymion. "It's possible, she's just lost. I mean, she doesn't know Crystal Tokyo very well, and she may have gotten lost."

"But she would have had no trouble finding the Crystal Palace and getting back!"Queen Serenity told him.

"Oh, right."

"Send out a search party!"

"Maybe she got on a ship, and is sailing?!"

"Ask everyone in sight!"

"She found a cave at the bottom of the sea, and she's staying there now?"

The suggestions went on and on. Everyone had a different idea of where Neptune could be, and kept suggesting different ways to locate her.

"Don't you have some kind of communicators, or something, that you could get a hold of her?"Kunzite asked Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn.

Pluto and Uranus shook their heads. It had never crossed their minds.

"It's very rare that we have to get a hold of one another."Uranus told him.

Kunzite frowned. He thought that would have been a good way to get a hold of Neptune, or at least locate her whereabouts.

"Telepathically?"he asked.

They shook their heads.

"And no one could have foreseen something like this!"he demanded.

"You should have!"Venus told him.

He ignored her, although he couldn't ignore the fact that perhaps she was right. He should have foreseen this.

"Maybe she just went back to Neptune."he suggested, shaking his head. "It is her home planet, after all, and, maybe she disregarded orders. Or there was something urgent she forgot to see to?"

"Now that sounds much more plausible."Artemis agreed. "I don't think she would disregard orders, though. But maybe she did leave something unfinished, or maybe she had something to do. She forgot?"

Mercury stood up. Although she doubted that what Kunzite suggested was likely, it made sense.

"Then I will try to contact Neptune. I will call Triton Castle by viewer. That should solve this. As soon as I view Neptune, we'll know everything is fine."

She walked out of the room. Jadeite stood up, he always found these meetings a bit boring, especially with Kunzite acting so psychotic. He knew that everyone did, as well.

"Ah! Well, that finally cleared that up."he said, cheerfully.

"I'm sure everything's going to be fine."said Mars, as they walked out.

Later, Mercury said she had no luck trying to contact Neptune.

"The furthest I got was Guardian Neptune."she told them.

"But wouldn't Guardian Neptune be absent if Neptune is there? Or, I mean, wouldn't she answer only if Neptune wasn't there?"Kunzite asked her.

"That's what I always thought."agreed Zoicite.

"Yes, and that's exactly what would happen. So I guess that means that Neptune isn't at Triton?"

Uranus looked shocked. If she wasn't at Triton, where could she be? Or was this some kind of complicated joke? She would have to see for herself.

"Where are you going?"Jupiter asked her.

"To Triton. To find Neptune."she said.

"It _is_ possible that perhaps Guardian Neptune is simply following orders."

"But why would Neptune not want to speak to anyone? And why would she have just left so suddenly? Without telling anyone?"Uranus insisted.

"Maybe she wasn't comfortable here?"suggested Mercury.

"But she was under orders to remain here!"insisted Kunzite. "Whether or not she was comfortable is something completely apart from that. She had her orders."

"I'm going to Triton."said Uranus.

"We'll go with you."

"No!"said Kunzite. "We can't leave the King, Queen, and Princess here, alone! Someone should stay here!"

"Or maybe only Uranus and Pluto should go to Triton?"suggested Luna.

Kunzite nodded. That made more sense.

"Then both of you will go."


	7. Chapter 7

Pluto and Uranus arrived at Triton Castle. They walked into the entrance hall. Like all the planetary castles, it was a large room, with the planetary symbol in the middle of the floor. Triton was in different shades of aquamarine and sea green, but showed no signs of a struggle. There were no signs that anyone had been there recently, either.

"Neptune!"Uranus called.

She was only answered by an echo. The only other sound was the running water from the aquariums.

"It doesn't seem like there's anyone here at all."said Pluto.

"It's a big castle. She could be anywhere."replied Uranus stubbornly, and ran to the nearest door.

Pluto went the other way.

"We've looked everywhere!"Pluto said, later. "There's just no sign of her."

"No."Uranus insisted. "She has to be somewhere."

"She's not here."

Uranus shook her head.

"I think we should get in touch with anyone in Crystal Tokyo as soon as possible."said Pluto.

They went to the communication room.

"Do you know how to use the viewer?"Pluto asked Uranus.

"Yes."she nodded. "I don't have a viewing technician at Miranda, so I operate the viewer myself."

She walked up to the controls, and began to manipulate them. One of the walls lit up, and Mercury's image appeared.

"We've been waiting for you to contact us."she said. "Kunzite's assigned someone to be next to the viewer every minute! Did you find her?"

Pluto shook her head.

"No. We've searched every room. The gardens, too."

Mercury frowned.

"I was sure you'd find her there."she said. "And there's no way you could possibly search the whole planet."

"We didn't think of that!"exclaimed Uranus. "Do you think she's somewhere on Neptune?"

"I don't think so."Mercury answered. "She'd be unmistakable, wouldn't she? I mean, anyone would recognize her. We'd probably know at once."

"Of course, that's what I thought, as well."said Pluto.

"I guess the only thing for you to do is to return?"Mercury suggested.

"I guess so."they agreed.

Uranus broke the connection, and they prepared to leave.

"Did you at least find anything that could give us a clue as to where she could be?"asked Uranus.

Pluto shook her head.

"I don't think so, but we'll see what happens. I'm sure she's all right, everything will be all right, you'll see."

When they returned to Crystal Tokyo, they were met by the guardian senshi, and the shitenou.

"Well?"asked Zoicite. "Mercury said you didn't find her at Triton, but where else can we look? She should be fired for causing this uproar."he said, shaking his head. "I think Kunzite's already working on that, though. I've seen Kunzite mad before, but he's furious with this! He's always seeing enemies everywhere, at least that's what everyone says, but this time, even I'm starting to think he might be right, and I was the one who was most convinced he was paranoid."

Uranus glared at him. It took all her self control to keep herself from beating him.

"But have we learned anything new?"asked Jupiter.

"Apparently, there's a disturbance within this planetary system."said Mercury, after studying something on her computer.

"A disturbance? What kind of a disturbance?"asked Nephrite.

"Well, I noticed it when I spoke with Uranus through the viewer, so while they got back, in the meantime, I decided to take a closer look."she explained to them. "It seems to be coming from the asteroid belt!"she sounded surprised and confused.

"The asteroids?"Mars sounded skeptical.

"But there's nothing there. Except…minerals, and other materials. Maybe that's what's causing this disturbance."suggested Jupiter.

"No, it's like…this kind of radiation would only come from planets. Because planets are inhabited. I don't see how else it could be emitted."

"Do you think there's someone colonizing the asteroid belt?"asked Jadeite looking doubtful.

"I think we should investigate."said Kunzite, firmly. "Even if it is just, perhaps someone exploring, we should know."


	8. Chapter 8

"We'll go to the asteroids!"said Uranus.

For once, Kunzite seemed to agree right away with someone who wasn't King Endymion.

"But it will take forever to find anything in the asteroids!"said Mercury.

"Whatever time it takes!"Uranus responded.

They arrived in the asteroid belt.

"Where do we start?"asked Jadeite. "On an asteroid?"

"There's nothing _but_ asteroids here, Jadeite."said Zoicite, crossly.

"He's right, though. Which one should we start searching?"Jupiter asked Kunzite.

Kunzite looked through the files on the computer.

"We should probably search for the source of these radiowaves."he said, as he analyzed the data.

It took a while before he had an answer.

"I've narrowed it down to this section. Once we get there, we can probably tell by looking. It's the section of the belt that's further from either Mars or Jupiter at this point."

"This is just getting weirder and weirder."muttered Nephrite.

They weren't far enough from the Sun, to see most of the stars, but that was what was most prominent in background.

"It's kind of weird, to see stars everywhere, not just above."said Mars.

"Yeah, it is."agreed Jadeite. "But I think it's kind of romantic. Maybe we should travel away from Earth more often."

Venus observed them, and turned away, as she saw Jadeite put his arms around Mars. Kunzite was absorbed in the computer, completely oblivious to everything and everyone.

"That particular one looks much larger than the others."he said, pointing at one. "Let's go."

"There's nothing there."said Venus.

"Maybe it's inside, like within the asteroid."he said. "Not on the surface."

"Then we'd have to find a way in."said Pluto.

Kunzite nodded his head in confirmation.

"So we'd still have to search the surface."

"Particularly the mountains, craters, and such. The plains must be left for last, that's the least likely place where'd we find anything."

They waited for a while, until they found what looked like a cave in one of the craters.

"Let's start there."

They stepped on the surface of the asteroid, as none of them needed space suits. They followed the cave into a tunnel, which spread out into smaller tunnels, in several different directions, but none as large as the one they were following.

"This could be a trap."said Jupiter.

"Or it could just be a dead end."added Mars.

"This kind of reminds me of the first time we went to the North Pole, and…"Mars trailed off.

Everyone tried to ignore her. No one liked to think about that. The shitenou had been enslaved by Beryl, and had fought against the senshi then. Even Endymion had been brainwashed.

"There's only one way to find out."said Uranus.

They went onto find the tunnel got larger.

"And there are sure signs of radiation you would find in any inhabited planet. So, there must be someone here."said Mercury.

The tunnel suddenly ended and became a large room.

"It looks like it's been inhabited for a while. Should we spread out?"she asked.

Kunzite nodded.

"But we should remain in contact."he said.

"I think we should stick together."said Nephrite.

Everyone else agreed. They searched as one group. Finally, they found something.

"Neptune!"exclaimed Uranus.


	9. Chapter 9

Neptune was unconscious, tied by her hands and feet.

"Do you think she's dead?"asked Venus, who was trembling.

"I don't think so."said Kunzite, calmly.

"She's still alive."confirmed Mercury. "But barely, I think. We have to get her back to Crystal Tokyo."she said.

"And we have to get out of here."agreed Nephrite. "I don't like this place. I have a very bad feeling about it. It'll be better if we leave as soon as possible."

"Yes."everyone else agreed.

They turned to exit, however, they found the exit blocked, but not by rocks, however, but what seemed like a door.

"We're trapped!"exclaimed Jupiter. "It was a trap?!"

"That's right."they heard a familiar voice from behind.

They turned, and saw two familiar forms approach them.

"It can't be!"exclaimed Mars.

Everyone else stared speechless. Before them, stood Beryl and Diamond. Mercury had to grab hold of something to keep from losing her balance.

"But you're-they're dead."said Jadeite.

No one else movied.

"I'm dreaming."said Venus firmly. "It's all a bad dream."she repeated, and turned to everyone else. "You'll see, we'll wake up, and then we'll find ourselves in Crystal Tokyo, and then, we'll just tell each other and laugh about this dream."her voice was trembling.

"No, you're not dreaming."Beryl told them.

Even Mars felt like she'd swallowed an ice cube, upon hearing her voice.

"How is this possible?"Kunzite asked Pluto.

Pluto stared. Even though the Outers hadn't been awoken when the Guardians had faced Beryl, they knew all about her, as they remembered the Silver Millenium. Besides, it was also part of Saturn's lessons. Small Lady's as well.

"Well?"Kunzite insisted.

Pluto didn't know what to say.

"I just don't know how it is possible."she told him.

Kunzite stared.

"What should we do?"asked Jadeite.

"What do you want? Why have you done this to Neptune?"demanded Uranus.

"I didn't do anything to Neptune. She was the one who told me everything."Beryl answered. "Everything about Crystal Tokyo."

What she said made no sense to anyone.

"What are you talking about?"demanded Mars.

"And how are you here? You…"Zoicite tried to find the right words. "You…died."he finally said. "Sailor Moon defeated you, long ago. How are you still around, after so long? Here, in the asteroids?"

"Asteroids are such small, insignificant things, no one ever thinks about them. No one but me."said Beryl. "Everyone else only thinks of planets, satellites, and stars. Never of anything smaller!"

They stared, speechless.

"That's why you were hiding here, in the asteroids, then."said Kunzite, calmly.

"Yes."she nodded. "And no one did find us."

"But we did!"said Venus.

"That was just because you were looking for her."Beryl pointed at Neptune. "Otherwise, you never would have, would you?"

Kunzite had to admit that she was right. They never would have thought to look among the asteroids.

"You're right."he admitted to her. "But you still haven't told us how you came to be here."he told her.


	10. Chapter 10

Everyone thought it seemed like a dream. They had not really seen Beryl, simply imagined they did. And imagined they got away from her. However, they hadn't imagined it. The proof was that Neptune was still unconscious. When they arrived in Crystal Tokyo, everyone seemed to be in a state of shock, even Kunzite. King Endymion and Queen Serenity greeted them.

"Did you manage to rescue Neptune?"asked Serenity.

Kunzite tried to pull himself together. He had just arrived in the Crystal Palace, and before the monarchs, and he didn't even bow.

"Yes, we did manage to bring Neptune. We managed to escape from the asteroid belt."

They were now in the conference room.

"You mean Beryl is back?"whispered Queen Serenity.

"That's what it looks like."answered Mars.

"But how?"the queen looked toward Pluto.

Pluto stared at her hands.

"Pay attention!"snapped Kunzite. "Her Majesty Queen Serenity is talking to you."he snapped at Pluto.

"You don't have to speak to her that way."Venus snapped at him.

"Let's not start fighting amongst ourselves."intervened King Endymion.

"They were dead!"said Kunzite.

"Maybe it was just an illusion."suggested Nephrite. "We could have been tricked!"

Everyone else seemed ready to believe that.

"Then how did Neptune get there!"demanded Uranus.

No one had an answer. Kunzite spoke first.

"For now, perhaps the important thing is to figure out how we're going to solve this. Then we'll worry about that later. For right now, I think we must first take care of Neptune."he said. "I think the first thing we must do is, she should be silenced."

Everyone stared.

"What do you mean, silence?"asked Uranus.

"She must have told Beryl everything. What if by now, she knows how to get into the Crystal Palace? Neptune was one of the senshi, one of the guardians! Obviously, a mistake must have been made, if she was chosen! Someone else must take her place as senshi of Neptune."

"You mean, to…kill her?"asked Jadeite.

"No!"exclaimed Uranus. "You can't do that!"

"I don't think he meant kill her."said Zoicite.

"Maybe she didn't tell them anything."suggested Mars.

"I wouldn't be so sure. We'll have to make some changes around here, we can't allow this to happen again, and we must protect the Royal Family."

Venus stood up, abruptly.

"Of course he meant that we should silence her by killing her most likely."she yelled.

Everyone else stared, speechless.

"Venus!"Artemis walked up to her. "Calm down! I'm sure you don't mean-"

"Yes, I do mean that!"she interrupted him.

"I know that maybe this is a little hard on everyone."Mercury tried to calm her.

"You don't know him like I do! I know that he has no heart!"

Venus ran from the room. Everyone else was speechless. Some stared at Kunzite, others at the door where Venus had disappeared. No one knew what to say. Kunzite cleared his throat, apologized to Endymion and Serenity for Venus's outburst, and then excusing himself left the room.

"You think he ran after her?"asked Jupiter.

No one answered.

Pluto sat alone in the room, after everyone else had left. She didn't know what to do. Everyone knew this was her domain. Ever since she'd traveled back in time, and visited Solaria, and since she'd returned, she'd discovered other things, especially about her abilities as a senshi. And here was something she couldn't help with. She knew that the dead couldn't return, maybe it all was just an illusion. At least she hoped it would be.


	11. Chapter 11

Luna and Artemis were having a heated discussion. Even though they had their differences, they both agreed that Kunzite's wasn't the best one.

"Never, has anyone ever thought of removing a senshi from her post, much less even suggesting, er, as Kunzite put it, silencing her."said Artemis.

"Never, has a senshi been captured, either. Or spoken to anyone other than the other senshi about anything confidential, or secret."Luna argued.

Artemis sighed.

"Now we're back to where we started from."he said.

In another room, instead of shooting pool, Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite discussed the events that had taken place just at the end of the discussion.

"It shouldn't surprise anyone that Kunzite wasn't really impressed with anything Venus said, even though I thought he should at least have called her a liar."said Zoicite.

"But I always thought Kunzite really didn't have a heart. Or a very small heart. With us, anyway. He's always pushing us."commented Jadeite. "You suppose she said it because he treats her like us, sometimes? Always commanding, giving orders, etcetera?"

The other two shrugged.

"It was probably just because of everything that happened."Nephrite assured them. "Just look at everyone else. After all, I've never seen Uranus so torn up, either."

Venus stared at the hair brushes, mirrors, jewelry boxes, and other ornaments on her dressing table. Artemis sat on the dressing table, as well.

"You think what?"he demanded.

"Just what you heard. I know sometimes people think I don't take things seriously, but I am serious this time, Artemis. After all, it wasn't uncommon for anyone on Venus to marry more than once, was it?"she asked.

"Well, no, it wasn't. But you're not just any Venusian! And you're not married to a Venusian, either. It's true, that you're not married to someone from a different star system, but you are married to someone from a different planet. That's why Venusians tend to only marry other Venusians. Anyone from another planet would have different customs. And much stricter laws."

"You should think this over, Venus."said Mercury. "Was it because of the comment he made? I don't think he meant it seriously. It was probably just…a suggestion. The first thing that came to this mind."she finished, unable to think of another reason.

"You probably just need some rest. I will go and get some of Demetrian herbs and get you something to help you sleep."said Jupiter, firmly, and stood up.

"I don't need rest. I'm fine."Venus insisted.

"You don't sound fine."Mars agreed with Jupiter.

"You were there in the room after I left, you saw that he didn't even hear what I said!"she said.

"I'm sure he heard it, all right."Artemis assured her. "Everyone did."

"Well, where is he?"Venus demanded.

"Uh…"Artemis looked up at the other senshi. "Where is he, you guys?"

"I think the most likely place would be, if not the library, then at least in the gardens."said Jupiter. "You want me to find him, and tell him to come over here?"she asked.

"Whatever for?"asked Venus. "If you're going to get him away from whatever it is he's doing, especially if it's something, like duty as a shittenou, you'd better have a very good reason."

"Because you asked for him?"suggested Artemis.

"And you think that will serve to get him away?"she asked, sarcastically.

Artemis looked confused.

"Uh, why don't I get him, anyway? He'll talk you out of that ridiculous idea about an annulment to your marriage."said Mercury. "It's just because you're upset. Still, I do think the one who should be apologizing is you, for what you said to him. Especially in front of everyone."

"That will be just what hurts him most, won't it?"yelled Venus. "That I said it in front of everyone!"

"Why don't you just listen to what the girls say, and get some rest? Everyone's so nervous about this, and everything. Something may have happened in the timeline. Or Beryl escaped death, somehow. Or it could just be someone pretending to be Beryl. But don't anyone worry. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this, one way or another."he assured them. "Only how are we going to do it if the leader of the Guardian Senshi is having a bad day, and isn't cooperating with the rest team, and forming uncanny ideas in her head?"he asked, in an effort to cheer her up.

He only achieved the opposite.

"Oh, so now you think I'm psychotic?"she demanded, through gritted teeth.

"Uh, no!"he apologized, and cowered.

Mercury giggled.

"I don't think he meant that, Venus."she said, pushing Artemis away. "But he's right. We'll get to the bottom of this soon enough. You'll see."she assured.

"Here, you'll just have to drink this, and it'll help calm you down."Jupiter walked into the room, with a cup of tea.

Venus sighed, took it, and sipped.

"I guess you're right. About us solving this, I mean, because you're not going to get me to change my mind about having my marriage to Kunzite annulled."she told them.

The others nervously exchanged glances.

"Don't worry. She'll probably forget all about that, as well by tomorrow. Or even tonight, at dinner. You know how she is."Artemis assured them.

"But just why would Venus want to annul her marriage to Kunzite?"asked Mars. "I mean, you remember, she was so…she was so happy with him. I don't know what could have caused such a drastic change. Overnight, practically. With everything she did to get him."


	12. Chapter 12

Kunzite wasn't, however, in the library, or the gardens. He simply wandered aimlessly in the corridors. Apart from himself, he was sure, no one knew the Crystal Palace as well as he did. Ever since the rise of Crystal Tokyo, hardly anyone in the Crystal Palace ever left its vicinity. That might have seemed unreasonable to others, however, such a custom made sense to him. After all, several, if not most, of the royalty in the Galaxy never left their castles, or palaces, except to visit others of their rank. Hardly anyone really went anywhere else on their own planet. That hadn't been so on Earth, even during the Silver Millenium. He remembered it well. Perhaps no one, not even the King and Queen recalled everything the way he did, for some reason. Perhaps it was better that they did not. Or maybe they hadn't really noticed it, or he was the one who had been affected the most by it. The War of Succession. He remembered it.

As the Queen of Earth and her consort had only one son, and no daughters, there was some debate over whether or not he could ascend to the throne. Some thought the crown should go to the closest female relative, as men were not allowed to rule. But the Queen had no sisters. In order to evade that particular problem from happening in the past, every Queen/Senshi had only one daughter, one heiress. There were even some doubts whether or not the prince could possess the Golden Crystal. The Queen had no brothers, either, but she did have distant female relatives, aunts, cousins, nieces, so forth. Even her male relatives, if they had daughters. However, most of them had married into the families of other star systems, or were so distantly related, that they did not seem fit candidates.

The war lasted for almost five years. The other planets and their rulers of the Solar System, refused to intervene. No one wanted anything to do with wars, and they kept strictly to themselves. As the people of Earth fought, some went as far as forbidding even their own citizens from traveling to Earth. They would simply wait until the people of Earth reached an agreement, and the fighting would cease. Thinking, perhaps that the only way to stop the fighting, the monarchs of Earth would betroth the prince to one of the Terrastrian nobility, and perhaps have an heiress that way, if the prince had a daughter.

Then, one of the neighboring monarchs made an offer. Queen Serenity IV of the Moon, had offered her daughter, Princess Serenity V,'s hand in marriage to Prince Endymion I of Earth. Queen Serenity was the most respected Queen in the Solar System, if not in the Galaxy itself. The other planets were amazed that the queen of the Moon offered her daughter's hand in marriage, to a planet which was war-ridden. Several had wished to have the princess marry their sons. However, Serenity thought, apart from stopping the war, it would also unite the crowns of Earth and the Moon.

Some were not too thrilled with the betrothal of Princess Serenity to Prince Endymion, but that had been of little importance to the royal families of either the Earth or the Moon. Among the ones who did not agree with it, were several people at the Court on Earth. Most of the Lunarians didn't mind. It was agreed, however, that the princess and her guardians would be much safer, if they did not visit Earth, until the wedding. There was still conflict on Earth, and everyone thought it was safest to wait until things had calmed down more.

But Kunzite had seen just what war was really like. Some of the others said he always pushed them too hard. Kunzite had been chosen to be the leader of the prince's guard. As such, they thought the best training he could receive was on the battlefield.

After the announcement, things seemed to begin to calm down and go back to order on Earth. At least that was what it seemed. Seeing that the queen had no heiress, it seemed that several important people at court, had wanted to marry their daughters to Prince Endymion. Several young ladies, both noble and common, had come built such a hope, it seemed. Pretty soon, one of Kunzite's duties was to keep the female suitors, for lack of a better term away from the prince. Some of them were pretty determined, however. Among them was a young woman with red hair. She wasn't a daughter of any of the nobles. He thought she most likely was a scullery maid or something around those lines. But that didn't stop her from trying everything time and time again. Finally, he had threatened her with exile at best, or execution at worst, if she didn't cease to aggravate him or the prince. Prince Endymion simply didn't want to see her, and even if he did, he was already betrothed to the Princess Serenity of the Moon. That had seemed to work. At least for a while. Little did he know that he had made perhaps the gravest error of all.

Venus lay on her favorite settee. The Demetrian tea Jupiter had brought her had certainly helped. At least for now. The others were stunned when she'd told them what she wanted to do. What would they say, if she had told them she was going to speak to the king and queen about it? Right away as well. She couldn't talk to them just now. It just wasn't a good time, was all. Only now she realized that it was the only time she told herself that, and it was actually true. She had thought about this before, she admitted to herself, but she just hadn't done anything about it. She'd always thought she was mistaken, she'd change her mind by the next day. Only she'd never changed her mind about it. Not really, she thought to herself.

She remembered when she first saw Kunzite. She had had to go to Earth to find Princess Serenity. The princess would sometimes spend hours looking up at the sky at Earth. There, on Earth, was Endymion, her future husband. She would ask her guardians if they knew anything about Earth, or what he was like. Of course, they didn't know, and the princess's curiosity sometimes got the better of her. Most of the time, anyway. She had to find the princess before anyone at the palace realized she was missing, and all four guardians were there. They'd really be in trouble then. At least for now, they wouldn't find her, either, and would assume that she'd gone with the princess.

Everything on Earth was so green, she'd thought to herself. And had so many flowers, especially roses. Red roses. She'd seen roses on Jupiter, and flowers on her native Venus and the other planets, but none like this. She finally distinguished the princess's dress among all that greenery. With her were two men. One had to be the prince, she could tell. She'd heard comments of people who had seen him. The other one, was probably some servant, companion, or perhaps even a guardian, like herself. He didn't seem at all like she thought a guardian should behave. At least none of them on the Moon behaved like that. Perhaps it was a custom of Earth. The first thing she'd heard him say, was a comment on how hard it must be to have such a bundle of curiosity for a princess. She heard the prince call him Kunzite. She didn't forget the name. She didn't forget him.

She saw him again, when Prince Endymion visited the Moon. It had been arranged, so the people of the Moon could see who their princess was to wed. She'd been right about Kunzite being one of his guardians. She learned that he was head of the prince's guard, as she was of that of the princess's. She managed to learn just about everything about him from the rest of the attendants who had come with the prince and his four guardians. Also from others at court. As a Venusian she had the same charm, and was an excellent gossip, and Venusians were known to be. She was also just as enthusiastic and vivacious, and this Kunzite intrigued her a bit. He rarely spoke to anyone, and he certainly never flirted or even smiled. She made it her mission to see that he did, at least once. As a Venusian, she just couldn't resist such a challenge.


	13. Chapter 13

It amused the other three of Prince Endymion's guardians to watch as the Venusian princess flirt with Kunzite. They could tell that even though it made him uncomfortable, he seemed to like it. They liked to gamble on whether or not she would succeed in getting his attention, especially Nephrite. He would always bet the highest odds.

Kunzite thought the Lunarians were very frivolous. It was very unlike the atmosphere he was accustomed to on Earth. Or maybe that was because the Moon wasn't war-ridden. The Lunarians dressed in lighter pastels, especially shades of silver, while Terrestrians dressed in darker colors. It was also the first time he'd seen natives of other planets, even planets outside the Solar System. On Earth, he only saw them on official, or diplomatic occasions. The one who stood out the most in his eyes was the head of the Moon Princess's guard, Princess Venus. Although Princess Mars wore a dress of bright red, it was Princess Venus the one who caught his attention.

Perhaps it was because she was so unlike himself. He believed in keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground, and always tended to see the darker, or more realistic side of things. Princess Venus was more imaginative and cheerful. They were just as diverse a group as the four Shitennou. He thought it was impractical to have such an individual as head of the group, although he had to admit, she did amuse him with her ideas. And he had to admit that he did look forward to seeing her, and listening to her chatter.

After they arrived on the Moon, they were greeted by Queen Serenity IV herself, her daughter, and her guardians, who were also the princesses of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Kunzite immediately recognized the princess of Venus, as the same one who had come looking for Princess Serenity on Earth.

It had been agreed that the wedding would take place on the Moon, as Princess Serenity was a Lunarian Princess, and anyway, there was still war on Earth. They had come to the Moon for the preparations, as well.

"Is that the head of Prince Endymion's Shitennou?"Jupiter asked Venus, as the prince and princess opened the ball.

"That's him, all right."Venus answered. "I saw him when I went to look for Princess Serenity."

"You were right about him being so…unsympathetic."she said, eyeing him, from across the room.

They were watching the group of Terrestrians from one end of the ballroom in the Moon Palace .

"It doesn't look like he knows how to enjoy himself at all at a ball. At least, a Lunarian ball. Do you think that's how people are at Terrestrian balls?"

"I don't think so."said Mercury. "See the others? They seem to be enjoying themselves. And the prince doesn't seem to have a problem, either."

"Now, no one else will have a chance to dance with the princess!"said Mars. "She won't dance with anyone else but him, I'm sure. That doesn't seem to go too well with any of the people who came from Earth. They were probably hoping to dance with him."

Venus stood up, opening her fan to its widest.

"Where are you going?"asked Mercury.

"To ask him to dance with me."she simply answered.

"Prince Endymion?"

"No, silly."she giggled, and pointed her fan towards Kunzite. "Him."

"I don't think it's the custom on Earth for women to ask men to dance with them. I think it's a man who asks a woman. That's the way it is on most other planets"Mercury pointed out. "He may find you a bit unladylike."

"We're not on Earth."said Venus, firmly. "And even if we were, I'm not a Terrestrian, I'm a Venusian, and on Venus, and according to what I was taught, it's perfectly normal for a woman to ask a man to dance with her."

"I don't think he'll accept."said Jupiter.

"Oh, I think he will."Venus answered.

The girls watched, interested, as Venus approached the group.

That was the first time Kunzite formally saw Princess Venus at court. And without being aware of it, he began to look forward to her company. Sometimes her forward customs would make him feel awkward, or uncomfortable, and he wouldn't know how to respond, but he enjoyed her attention all the same. He began to think the best thing that could have happened was Prince Endymion's engagement to Princess Serenity.

Princess Venus spend hours walking through the gardens with Kunzite, listening to him tell her about Earth, even though she might have little interest in it. After all, the best way to get someone to think you were interesting was to make them think they were interesting. That was one of the first things one learned on Venus.

Now she wondered if that had even been worth her time. She wondered why Kunzite had asked her to marry him. Was it just because of that? Because she was the only one he found who would listen to him? She had thought, she was sure that there was something Kunzite kept hidden, that there was a side to himself he never showed. That he just never wore his heart on his sleeve. But now, she thought, maybe others had been right. Maybe it was simply because he had no heart.

Artemis found Kunzite.

"I've been looking for you!"he said.

Kunzite straightened and looked up, or rather down, at him.

"Oh?"he asked.

"I don't think Venus is feeling very well. However, I'm sure if you sit down and talk, you'll get everything straightened out, and talk her out of that idea of annulling your marriage. I'd talk to her before she talks to the king and queen, if I were you. She probably didn't mean it, you know how she is. Once she calms down, she'll see reason."he assured.

"Is she insisting on that?"he asked.

"I'm sure you can talk her out of it."Artemis assured him.


	14. Chapter 14

While everyone else was so distracted, the Guardians helping Venus stay calm, after her outburst, the Shitennou staying with the upset King and Queen, and Uranus not moving from Neptune's side, Pluto left the room, and decided to return to the fourth dimension. She would be able to think more clearly there, she thought. She opened the door, and stepped out. Or rather, stepped in. She looked around her, at the stars burning brightly in the distance. Here, one would sometimes get the impression that they were floating in space. If she concentrated enough, she could see and feel the floor beneath her feet. Pluto could name all the stars and constellations by their proper name. It would be odd if she couldn't, as she spent her life surrounded by them.

Just by using her willpower and imagination, she closed her eyes, and willed to travel to the river. No one, not even she could cross the river, she knew. She'd been told many times. Now that she had recovered the memories of her childhood, she could hear on the doctors telling her she must never cross the river. As part of her training, apart from standing in the night, gazing at the stars, or the simulation to give the impression that she was surrounded by emptiness on all sides, she had been taught almost to fear the river. The times she had spent on Earth, or anywhere outside the fourth dimension, she had always had a fear of rivers, sometimes even of water, even though she was told that there would be no water. Eventually she had been taught to dominate her fear, so that she feared water no longer. On Earth she could see running water in fountains and such. Now she knew why, she thought. The rivers elsewhere had running water, she knew. There was no water in this one, she could see.

This was the River of Death . She'd never dared to approach it before. Pluto raised her Garnet Rod and Orb, and summoned. However, the river kept running. The only thing that happened was a splash, as though someone had thrown a relatively large pebble in to the river.

"Nothing."she said to herself. _But shouldn't they answer my summons,_ she wondered.

Pluto was aware she was relatively new at this. Perhaps she hadn't said the summons properly. Or she hadn't willed for them strongly enough. She tried again. Maybe if she went back to Charon Castle , and consulted the vast library, she might find something there. Although she had only been there once, or twice, she knew there would be a library, all the castles did, especially about the domain of the senshi of that particular planet, and most likely, she could find anything referring to time, space, and death there. Before turning to leave, she looked back at the river, she'd have to find some more information first.

_Wait,_ she thought. She had spoken to someone from the river before, hadn't she? After she'd found out about her origins. Queen Serenity. Or maybe the queen wasn't in the river. Maybe they couldn't be summoned just yet. Pluto realized that she had a lot to learn. Or maybe it was because this was more Saturn's domain. Apart from herself, Saturn was the only who would be able to glimpse, or influence the river. Still, something had happened when she had said the summons. Maybe it was trying to come, but somehow couldn't? Couldn't free itself from the rest of them?

Pluto walked around what she thought of as the river's edge, even though there was nothing visible. It simply…appeared. She didn't take her eyes off the water, for lack of a better word, kept running. Unlike real water, it made no sound. If she looked closely, or focused on one, she could see distinguishing features among them. A face, a hand, anything. They all looked so peaceful, she thought. As if they were simply asleep, as they floated with the current. One wouldn't think they were souls of those passed away. Suddenly, on the other side of the river, she thought she saw something. Uneasily, she looked around, hoping to see a bridge that would allow her to cross, when one appeared before her, as if out of nowhere. Not stopping to think, or wonder where it had come from, how, or why, she simply crossed it. The river kept running, smoothly, as if nothing had happened.

As soon as she stepped off the bridge, onto the opposite side, the bridge disappeared, just as quickly, and mysteriously as it had appeared, and the view changed. Looking around, she could still see the river behind her, and just as she had seen nothing on this side, when she stood on the opposite bank, now she could see nothing but darkness on the bank she just left. Now, however, she seemed to surrounded by light, and a sense of joy suddenly overwhelmed her.

"Your Majesty!"she exclaimed, seeing Queen Serenity sitting on a divan, and bowed.

Queen Serenity looked up, folded her book, and picked up her fan.

"I'm glad to see you Pluto."said the queen. "Have a seat."she said, as she gestured toward a chair which appeared before her.

"Oh, no!"answered Pluto, anxiously. "I could never sit in the Royal presence! It wouldn't be right!"

The queen smiled.

"But you aren't really in the Royal presence now, are you?"she said, looking amused. "The Royal presence would be if you were before my daughter, Serenity."

"But you're…"Pluto fumbled for the right words. "you're the Queen Mother."she settled at last.

Queen Serenity waved her fan, as if to dismiss Pluto's words.

"Well, I am not the reigning queen, and, I would like you to sit. I command you to sit. It's uncomfortable to have to look up at you. I'd be much more comfortable if you sat."

Pluto obeyed, uneasily, and she took a seat. She'd never sat before the queen, king, or even the crown princess.

"And what has brought you here today?"the queen asked her.

"I…wanted to…speak to someone, Majesty."Pluto answered, timidly. "I wanted to summon them out of the river, but maybe my powers aren't…ready yet."she finished.

Queen Serenity stood and walked to the edge of the river.

"It couldn't be someone on this side of the river. I know very few who would be willing to leave, if any."she said, smiling. "Maybe that would be why."

Pluto looked around her.

"I don't think they could be here."she said. "So…they must be in the river."

She explained to the queen what she'd seen as she'd summoned. Serenity frowned.

"Only a piece of a soul."she sighed, and shook her head.

"What do you mean?"asked Pluto.

"I could not tell you everything, Pluto, even if I knew. The soul you wanted to summon, has been torn."

"Torn?"asked Pluto looking confused.

She looked at the river. How could a soul be torn? All the ones there looked whole. _I'll have to return to Charon,_she thought.


	15. Chapter 15

Meanwhile, the other three Shitennou discussed the events.

"It's weird, just the three of us, without Kunzite to lead the discussion."said Zoicite.

"I never thought I'd say this, but if feels strange, even a little creepy, I guess, without Kunzite here to lead everything."Nephrite replied.

"I couldn't believe Venus just burst out and said that in front of everyone!"Jadeite sounded astounded.

"I wasn't too surprised. After all, you know how unpredictable and impulsive she can be."Nephrite shrugged.

"I think she might have just said it because she was upset."

"But nothing Kunzite could have done could have upset her."assured Zoicite.

"What makes you so sure of that? He upsets me all the time, always giving orders, and criticizing, probably when both of us know nothing we do will ever be good enough for him."Nephrite grinned. "But not Venus. I always thought he'd be more…humble like he is to King Endymion and Queen Serenity. Small Lady, too. He doesn't give orders to them. Us, he bosses around, not them."said Nephrite.

"You don't think he treats her the way he treats us?"asked Jadeite.

No one said anything.

"Here, it's because he's in charge."said Zoicite. "And he doesn't settle for anything but the best."he sighed.

"By the way, where is he?"asked Nephrite. "After what happened, shouldn't he be here, trying to figure out what's going on?"he pointed out.

"I haven't seen him since he left just after Venus's, er, little outburst. He left just right after she did, but before the girls went after her."said Jadeite. "Or no, wait was it after they left?"he asked, looking confused.

"Jadeite, we were there, you know."said Nephrite. "You don't have tell us."

Jadeite nodded. It was probably better that way.

"I guess we should still discuss this even without Kunzite here."said Zoicite.

"Without him, I guess you're in charge."Nephrite pointed out.

Jadeite agreed.

"I'm not as good at leading these discussions as I thought I would be."said Zoicite after a while. "I think after this, I might start value Kunzite a little more."

"We're still waiting for you to start."Nephrite told him.

"Well…"Zoicite pondered. "Did you notice anything, Jadeite? I know it was pretty quick, but you must have noticed something."he said.

"What do you mean?"asked Jadeite.

Zoicite rolled his eyes.

"What else would I mean?"he asked. "You must have had some insight to her thoughts while we were there."he said.

"Oh."Jadeite thought for a moment. "I didn't really think to do anything. I was too…stunned to think."he admitted.

"Weren't we all?"Nephrite nodded.

"This isn't getting us anywhere."sighed Zoicite some time afterward. "We're just going around in circles. I still don't understand how Neptune could have been kidnapped. Here, in Crystal Tokyo, in the Crystal Palace . It just doesn't make any sense."

"If it did make any sense, we would've solved it by now."

They decided to give up until Kunzite returned.

Pluto made her way back to the door, once she crossed it, she made her way to the throne room. She would request an audience with the king and queen. However, no one seemed to be paying attention to much that was going on around them, she noticed. When she got to the throne room, the king and queen were already there, waiting. Pluto kneeled before them, waiting for them to speak first.

"Your Majesties,"she began, afterwards. "I would like to say that I wish to leave for Charon Castle at once. Diana offered to watch the door for me."she told them.

"Why must you go to Charon Castle at once, Pluto?"asked Queen Serenity.

"I must consult the library there. The answers we need might be found there."she explained.

The king and queen seemed to consider Pluto's word.

"Very well, Pluto."King Endymion said, at last.

"We hope you do find the answers there."said Queen Serenity quietly.Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 4


	16. Chapter 16

Venus was still sitting on the same settee when Kunzite walked into the room.

"Very well."he said, as he closed the door behind him. "If you do want our marriage annulled, then it will be so."he finished.

She felt like shaking him. That was so like him, wasn't it? He was always so proper, so…ugh, she thought.

"And just like that?"she asked.

"I guess it would have to be approved by King Endymion and Queen Serenity."he said.

Venus remembered, she'd even become jealous of King Endymion because he took up so much of Kunzite's time. The others, as well. She'd never told anyone. Everyone always thought either that she didn't mind, or perhaps that he had more time than they thought. Perhaps she could go to Magellan for a few weeks.

"Yes,"she said. "You should go to them. And as soon as possible."

"Before I do that, I would like to speak to you."he told her.

"There's nothing to talk about. I think everything's been said. I would just like to get this over with. Afterwards, I'll just take a little vacation. But of course, I know you don't know the meaning of such a thing, do you?"

"I must do my duty."he answered.

"Yes, your duty. I think that you've repeated that so many times, it's like a phrase I've learned by now. I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"It's what I was chosen to be the leader of the prince's guard for."he pointed out.

"And it's why it was so stupid of me to marry you."she added. "I shouldn't have. I should have just…stayed unmarried, or married someone. Someone from my own planet, maybe. Who would have other priorities. Or at least whose life didn't revolve around only their duty. Who cared about something else. Who cared about me. Obviously you don't. Everyone who ever told me that was always right! Only I wouldn't listen!"

He didn't know what to say. However, Venus didn't expect him to answer. By now, she was used to his silence.

"You are wrong."he told her.

She looked up.

"You think I'm wrong?"she asked, skeptically. "You think I'm wrong! Why would you think something like that? It's so obvious."

"I'm sorry."he apologized.

Venus simply shrugged. She picked up one of the golden apples. She'd brought them with her from Venus, where they grew in masses. One could pass through the orchards, and the entire fields would be heady with their sweet scent.

"I remember when I brought these here."she said. "So many. They would be to give the rooms, the entire palace, a pleasant scent."she held it up to her nose. "A few into making a potion. One of the best potioners on Venus would make it."she told him. "The first one had so little effect, perhaps it was because it wasn't brewed by my own hand. So I brewed another one."

He nodded.

"I always thought Jupiter was the one who was most fond of cooking."he said.

"Not just cooking."she chuckled. "Jadeite drank it once."she looked amused. "He drank from the goblet meant for you!"

"You put that in my drink?"he asked.

"Would you have drank it any other way?"

"I doubt it."he conceded.

"I know. You never would have, but I never gave up. Until now."

"I'm so sorry. I really wish you could forgive me."he said. "You're right about everything. That's why I will do this. I'll do something for you. I'll speak to the king and queen immediately, however, I would like you to hear me out first."

"Nothing will change my mind."she told him.

"I know."he said. "I can see that. However, I would still like you to listen to me."

"You're wrong in that I don't care about you. I do."he said.

This was really going to be much harder than he thought. He never spoke to anyone about his feelings. Not to her, not to anyone.

"You see, the reason I asked you to marry me was because…"he took a deep breath. "I love you."

Venus looked up, a look of disbelief on her face.

"I know I've never been very…demonstrative, but I do."

She didn't know what to say. She was at a complete loss for words.

"I tried to…disregard it. That was why I always tried to dissuade King Endymion to go to the Moon, or see the Moon Princess. I always knew wherever she was, it was most likely that you would be there. The prince would pay no heed, and went to the Lunar balls, anyway. And you always seemed to find me in the most unexpected places."

She nodded.

"I always did have my sources, you know."

"I could tell. I'm sure one of them was probably one of the others. Most likely Nephrite."

She looked surprised.

"I always suspected, if not knew."

"I never heard, or even thought you-I mean, he never got in trouble with you that I knew of."

"He never did. Not for that."he told her. "Although sometimes I would think of any excuse."

"Why?"

"Odd as it may sound, I would actually enjoy encountering you on a walk through the gardens on Earth, or perhaps just casually in the crowd in the ballroom. And it would end in that I would always be compelled to ask you to dance."

She nodded. She remembered only too well.

"But…why…?"

"It was because…"he stopped, trying to find the right words.

She smiled.

"I think I see."she said. "There's just no…no hint of a Venusian in you, for lack of a better term."she giggled. "And just how ironic that you marry me."

"Ironic, indeed."he agreed. "If I'd only…said, did, _something_ earlier…"he trailed off.

She got up from the settee, and ran, and put her arms around him.

"Oh, who cares!"she said. "You're thinking Martians. We Venusians just aren't the type to hold a grudge. At least not for long!"she said happily.


	17. Chapter 17

Pluto returned to Crystal Tokyo only a few days later.

"Well, did you find anything?"Mars asked anxiously.

Everyone stood around, waiting.

"Apparently,"she began. "it looks like her soul has somehow escaped from the river Styx."

"Escaped?! From the river of the dead?!"asked Artemis. "But how?"

"I'm not sure."Pluto admitted.

"Well, I guess I can understand why someone would want to escape."said Nephrite. "I just never thought it was possible."

Pluto frowned.

"No one should escape from the river. No one. No soul."

"And what do we do about it now."asked Mercury.

Pluto looked up.

"We return her to the river. That is why the souls are so restless."

"But what if she escapes again? And we'll never get her to go willingly."

"No."she hesitated. "If she will go…where the current is strongest? And she will go to the Underworld. No one could ever return from there."

"And how do we make sure she gets there."

"We'll have to lure her. Once she crosses the river, and steps onto the opposite bank, her soul won't be able to come back."she explained.

"And how do we do that?"

Pluto gave King Endymion one of her keys.

"I don't think this is such a good idea."said Kunzite.

He and the other three shitennou seemed very uneasy. The queen as well.

"This might be the only way."he told them.

Pluto led him towards the river. Once on the bank, she held her Orb over it, and a conjured a bridge over it, and they both crossed it. All at once the scenery changed. They could still see the river, still hear it, however, the opposite bank was completely empty. Afterwards, she crossed the bridge again, just before it disappeared.

"Fine, that's part one."said Mercury, crossing it on a list she was holding.

"Now, part two."said Zoicite. "We'll have to lure Beryl over here."

"That won't be necessary. We can take the river to her, the river can be accessed from anywhere. The portal can be opened anywhere, to the dead."Pluto explained.

"But she's not dead."

They traveled to the asteroid belt, and located Beryl. Pluto opened the portal. Looking up, Beryl could see the figure of King Endymion, almost as he were walking towards her. Endymion held his arms to her, gesturing her towards him. Everyone looked surprised to see that she had tears in her eyes. They'd never thought she would cry. Slowly, she walked towards him, until finally, she stepped into the river, and swam towards him. Once she surfaced on the bank, Endymion disappeared.

"No!"she cried out. "Endymion!"she ran to the spot where he had stood only seconds before.

Pluto sealed the portal, and the souls in the river went back to its usual steady self.

"Things are really never dull around here, are they?"said Zoicite.

"What do you mean, they're never dull!"demanded Nephrite. "Except for that little, er, adventure, things are pretty much routine."he said.

"That's true."agreed Pluto.

"And frankly, I think I prefer it that way."said Uranus.

"By the way,"said Luna. "whatever happened to the, um, annulment-"

"Oh, we won't worry about that anymore, Luna."said Venus, cheerfully.

"Ha! I don't see why you all look so surprised."said Artemis. "Or maybe you haven't gotten to know Venus that well. Don't tell me you weren't expecting her to change her mind!"


End file.
